MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee volleyball team picked up its third consecutive tournament title to open the season as MKE swept the Panther Invitational. Milwaukee earned wins over SEMO, Butler, and Western Michigan to improve to 8-1, its best start since 2007. The Panthers are proving to be on the of the toughest defenses in the Horizon League, holding opponents to a .148 hitting percentage.
 
Scouting the Competition
The Panthers look to improve to 4-0 at home as they host Northern Illinois at the Klotsche Center before heading to Brookings, S.D. for the Jackrabbit Invitational.
 
Northern Illinois has started the season 3-8, capturing victories over Fairleigh Dickinson, UC Riverside, and Niagara. Most recently, the Huskies were swept twice at the Incarnate Word Tournament in Texas. Northern Illinois relies on the arms of Kennedy Wallace and Kaitlyn Bell, who have recorded 116 and 107 kills, respectively. As a team, the Huskies are hitting just .191 and averaging 11.88 kills per set.
 
Kansas City just wrapped up the Mizzou Invitational, falling to Northern Iowa and Missouri to drop to 2-5 on the season. The Roos have victories over Louisiana Tech and Austin Peay in 2019. Kansas City has three players averaging at least 2.4 kills per set, led by Alicia Harrington who has put away 74 kills in seven matches. Defensively, Alex Ratzlaff has totaled 90 digs while Maddie Renn has 84 this season. The Roos rank in the middle of the pack in most categories in the Western Athletic Conference but are last in total blocks with 41.
 
South Dakota State opened the season splitting its first six matches but have since dropped three straight. The Jackrabbits have struggled offensively, landing just .157 percent of their attacks. Makenzie Hennen has totaled 104 kills for SDSU but is hitting just .165 for the year. Hennen is a dual threat for the Jackrabbits as she ranks second on the team with 96 digs. In nine matches, she has recorded four double-doubles.
 
Valparaiso, who the Panthers will face twice over the next eight days, opened the year 2-1 before dropping five of its next seven matches. A relatively young team, the Crusaders have just two seniors in Alana Brown and Brooke Westphal. Defensively, Valpo has been strong, averaging 18.24 digs per set. Rylee Cookerly leads four players with at least 100 digs as she has recorded 186 this season.
 
Stellar Season Start
The Panthers have already matched last year's win total as they have won eight of the first nine contests this season. With the 8-1 start, Milwaukee is of to its best start since 2007 when the team started 14-1. That year, the Panthers finished 26-3 and won the Horizon League regular season title.
 
Panther Invite Success
For the 21st season, Milwaukee hosted the Panther Invitational. With its seventh sweep of the invitational, the Panthers are 46-25 at the home tournament since its inception in 1995.
 
Home Cooking
In total, the Panthers host 13 home games in 2019 including four straight from October 18 to October 26. Milwaukee is 235-101 overall and 141-46 in league play all-time at home. In Susie Johnson's 22 years with the Panthers, MKE is 206-61 in the Klotsche Center.
 
Grinding Grabowski
Sophomore Jess Grabowski has been tremendous for the Panthers, leading the team with 180 total digs. Thanks to a spectacular showing at the Panther Invitational, Grabowski earned the Nike Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honor. Grabowski has recorded double-digit dig totals in each of Milwaukee's nine contests this year.
 
Joining the 1K Club
With 33 digs at the Panther Invitational, Kylie Wilks surpassed 1,000 digs for her career. The dual-threat senior is on pace to become just the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs and kills. Wilks is just outside the top 10 in digs and ranks 15th with 867 kills.
 
The Heilemann Hammer
Carmen Heilemann has been solid all season for Milwaukee and leads the team with 99 kills and a .308 attack percentage. The junior recorded a season-high 19 kills in a 3-2 win over Drake and has reached double digit kills in six of the nine matches  this season. Heilemann is on pace to put up the best statistical line of her career for the black and gold.
 
Double Trouble
Setters Jenn Dore and Rylie Vaughn have been a nightmare for the opposition in 2019. In a 3-1 win over Butler, each recorded a double-double, the second time that has happened this season. The two have combined for eight double-doubles this year and are averaging over 5.0 assists per set. Thanks to their outstanding play September 13-4, Dore and Vaughn were named to the Panther Invitational All-Tournament team.
 
Exuding Experience
Of the 18 players on the 2019 roster, 15 of them have collegiate experience including 12 who played at least 50 sets a season ago. Milwaukee has six seniors and four juniors on the roster to make up the upperclassmen.
 
Sophomore Studs
This year's sophomore class had an impactful freshmen campaign. Rylie Vaughn's 592 assists stand eighth on the freshman record board. Jess Grabowksi's 561 digs was a record for a Panthers freshman as was her 4.92 digs per set. Abby Koenen appeared in all 30 matches, totaling 217 kills and 64 blocks. Kleja Cerniauskaite started 25 matches for the Panthers and recorded 169 kills and 60 blocks. Lauren Spalding had an injury-plagued season but made the most of her appearances, tallying 101 digs and 10 service aces in 14 matches.
 
The Big 2-0-0
Entering her 13th season as head coach for Milwaukee, Susie Johnson had 198 victories. Thanks to an opening weekend sweep, Johnson earned win number 200 and even added another for good measure. Johnson became the third Panthers' volleyball coach to record at least 200 victories, joining Kathy Litzau  ('93 - '06) and Tom Pleyte ('78 - '92). Johnson has been a part of the coaching staff for 22 total years and has helped the Panthers to 13 20-win seasons.
 
I'll Take Milwaukee For 500
With the 3-2 win over Arkansas State in the season opener, the Milwaukee volleyball team earned their 500th program victory, adding to their rich history. Since entering into NCAA Division 1, the Panthers have 13 league titles and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
Catch All the Action
Thanks to ESPN+, Milwaukee volleyball will be readily available for viewers. The Panthers have nine home games scheduled for streaming on ESPN+. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN+ platform.
 
ESPN+, which will host the Horizon League women's soccer, men's soccer, and volleyball championships this fall, offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content, and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
 
For road games, visit www.MKEPanthers.com for live coverage links.